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Racial Equity and Health Policy

Racism, Discrimination and Health

Proposed Changes in the Census Could Impact Efforts to Address Health Disparities

The proposed changes would effectively prohibit the counting of many noncitizen immigrants, including undocumented immigrants and some lawfully present immigrants, and ban the inclusion of questions on race and ethnicity from the decennial census.

Health Coverage by Race and Ethnicity, 2010-2024

The Growing Use of Artificial Intelligence in Health Care and Implications for Disparities

KFF Survey on Racism, Discrimination and Health: Views on Racism and Trust in Key U.S. Institutions

Overview of Health Coverage and Care for Individuals with Limited English Proficiency

the Essentials

  • How Experiencing Racial Discrimination Impacts Health

    This brief highlights research examining mechanisms underlying health outcomes linked to self-reported experiences of racial discrimination, including biological changes, chronic stress, mental health, substance use, pregnancy-related outcomes, and sleep.

  • Timeline: How History Has Shaped Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities

    This timeline offers a historical view of significant U.S. federal policies and events spanning the early 1800s to today that have influenced present-day health disparities.

  • Health Policy 101: Chapter on Race, Inequality and Health

    Addressing persistent racial and ethnic disparities in health and health care is important for improving the nation’s health and economic prosperity. KFF explains such disparities and the factors that drive them, examines the actions to address them, and outlines future considerations.

  • Key Data on Health and Health Care by Race and Ethnicity

    Racial and ethnic disparities in health and health care remain a persistent challenge in the United States. An updated KFF resource examines how people of color fare compared to White people across 64 measures of health, health care, and social determinants of health.
Interactive Timeline

How History Has Shaped Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities: A Timeline of Policies and Events

This interactive timeline explores how history has shaped racial and ethnic health disparities and the lasting effects that persist to this day.

The timeline describes major U.S. federal policies and events since the early 1800s that are linked to present-day health disparities. It also covers policies that impact health coverage and access to care, medicine, and social and economic policies that influence health as well as efforts to tackle inequalities.

Survey of Immigrants

KFF-New York Times Survey: Immigrants Report Rising Fear, Negative Economic and Health Impacts, and Changing Political Views During the First Year of President Trump’s Second Term

The 2025 Survey of Immigrants, a partnership between KFF and The New York Times, takes an in-depth look at the experiences of immigrants during the first year of President Trump’s second term, including their worries related to increased immigration enforcement, their health and economic wellbeing, and the political views and preferences of immigrant voters. The survey paints a portrait of families under strain — where fear of detention and economic instability are negatively impacting immigrants’ health and reshaping immigrant families’ daily lives and views of U.S. political parties.

Read the News Release | Explore The New York Times’ Reporting

Immigrants

Many Lawfully Present Immigrants Will Lose Health Coverage Due to the 2025 Tax and Budget Law

This policy watch outlines the groups of lawfully present immigrants that will lose access to federally funded health coverage due to new restrictions on eligibility in the 2025 tax and budget law.
It also highlights the Congressional Budget Office’s (CBO) estimates of the number of lawfully present immigrants who will become uninsured due to the provisions, as well as estimated federal savings that will result.
CBO estimates that the law’s restrictions on eligibility will result in 1.4 million lawfully present immigrants becoming uninsured and reduce federal spending by $131 billion by 2034.

Related: Key Facts on Health Coverage of Immigrants

Recent State Actions Related to Immigrants’ Access to Services and Immigration Enforcement

Health Issues for Immigrants in Detention Centers

Policy Bars Many Immigrants from a Broad Range of Federal Health and Social Supports

Role of Immigrants in the Hospital Workforce

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  • Section 1115 Waiver Watch: Medicaid Pre-Release Services for People Who Are Incarcerated

    Issue Brief

    In April 2023, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released guidance encouraging states to apply for a new Section 1115 demonstration opportunity to test transition-related strategies to support community reentry for people who are incarcerated. As of August 19, 2024, CMS has approved Section 1115 reentry waiver requests from 11 states, while 13 additional reentry waivers remain pending.

  • Minority Graduates of U.S. Medical Schools: Trends, 1950-1998

    Other Post

    While significant efforts have been made to increase minority representation in the medical profession, very little information about minority medical school graduates and minority physicians has been available to evaluate progress towards this goal. This report, prepared by the Association of American Medical Colleges, provides both trend information in minority medical graduates, as well as the current practice characteristics of minority physicians. It is the first product from a unique database developed from the archives…

  • Health and Access to Care and Coverage for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) Individuals in the U.S.

    Issue Brief

    Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals often face challenges and barriers to accessing needed health services and, as a result, can experience worse health outcomes. These challenges can include stigma, discrimination, violence, and rejection by families and communities, as well as other barriers, such as inequality in the workplace and health insurance sectors, the provision of substandard care, and outright denial of care because of an individual’s sexual orientation or gender identity. This issue…

  • Health Coverage and Care in the South in 2014 and Beyond

    Issue Brief

    This issue brief provides an overview of health coverage and care in the South today, with a focus on demographics, the impact of the ACA coverage expansions, and ongoing efforts to improve the delivery system and safety net in the South.

  • Section 1115 Waiver Watch: How California Will Expand Medicaid Pre-Release Services for Incarcerated Populations

    Policy Watch

    On January 26, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) approved California’s Section 1115 request to cover a package of reentry services for certain groups of incarcerated individuals 90 days prior to release. This approval is the first to include a partial waiver of the statutory Medicaid inmate exclusion policy, which prohibits Medicaid from paying for services provided during incarceration (except for inpatient services).

  • The U.S.-Mexico Border Region Faced a Range of Health Challenges Long Before the Current Immigration Surge

    News Release

    With intense immigration activity at the U.S.-Mexico border this year and attention focused on the plight of newly arriving migrants, a new KFF analysis finds communities along the border faced an array of socioeconomic challenges and weak health infrastructures well before this year’s surge. Texas – which has the most counties along the border and is the only border state that has not expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act – stands out as facing…

  • Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Access to Health Insurance and Health Care

    Fact Sheet

    Racial and ethnic groups in the United States continue to experience major differences in health status compared to the majority white population. Although many factors affect health status, the lack of health insurance and other barriers to obtaining health services markedly diminish minorities' use of both preventive services and medical treatments. This report, produced in collaboration with the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research, examines health insurance coverage and access to physician services among African…